Springtime For Cinder
by ARoseForRose
Summary: It was no secret to Weiss Schnee, the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, that she was going to have her marriage arranged by her father. That she knew ever since she was a little girl. What she never expected, was her wedding to be a political decision. Written collectively by ARoseForRose and The Supreme One. Ladybug, Spice, Monochrome, Trinidad (full summary inside)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Welcome, welcome, to another year at Hogwarts-oops. Wrong fandom. This is gonna be one big A/N so be warned.  
**

**Full summary:  
_It was no secret to Weiss Schnee, the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, that she was going to have her marriage arranged by her father. That she knew ever since she was a little girl. What she never expected was her wedding to be a political decision._**

**_A story about the life of Cinder Fall; a story that will tell of her past, her present, and her future as well. Loosely based on the arranged marriage au. Written collectively by ARoseForRose and The Supreme One_**

**_Pairings: Ladybug, Spice* [Melanie/Yang/Miltia], Monochrome, Trinidad* [Ruby/Weiss/Blake]_**

**_*Spice because the girls' color schemes are green, yellow and red. These are also the colors of peppers, which are spicy, and girls are made of sugar, and spice, and everything nice. So Spice it is.  
*Trinidad because the country's flag is black, white and red, it means "trinity", and it overall sounds better than Newspaper and Blushing Penguin. It totally works. (Parings named by TSO because ARoseForRose sucks at finding ship names)_**

**Okay, so, this little story, is written by both yours truly and the ever so lovely Supreme One (you can call her TSO). It's certainly Cinder centered (that's a mouthful), meaning that several chapters will be devoted to her awesomeness. Pairings are as mentioned above, but don't be confused. This is so much more than a romance story full of fluff. We don't really like too much fluff. Did you notice the genre tags? Yeah, it's angst, and crime, and drama, and adventure, and hurt, and a little humor when things need to lighten up a bit. **

**We hope you enjoy the journey through mostly Cinder's life.**

**Disclaimer: We don't own Rooster Teeth, RWBY, the characters, or the au this story is loosely (I repeat, loosely) based on. We do own the rest of the plot though! Tasteless jabs at celebrities constitute fair game. **

**1.**

It was yet another ordinary morning when Ruby Rose, always the first of her team to wake up, decided it was a good time to check the news, just like she did every day as part of her routine. Or at least it seemed like an ordinary morning; until she read the title of one of the articles, which made her jaw drop in shock and disbelief.

She was standing in the hall, shocked, no, dumbfounded by what lay before her. She tried to read it again, and have it make sense, but nothing really came of the effort. Nor the next three attempts.

Her eyes scanned the news report shown on her scroll one more time:

_"Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, has had her hand in marriage sold at auction to the highest bidder by her father."_

As it was explained further down the article, the price for Weiss' hand was 8,000,000 Lien. Ruby's eyes widened at the fortune whoever won said auction had offered, though the winning party was as of yet unknown. The girl blinked a couple of times, still refusing to believe that something like that was actually happening. _'Who would sell their own daughter?'_

Faint sounds of someone crying snapped the girl out of the thoughts, and back to reality. Turning her head slightly to face the door to her room, Ruby realized that the person crying sounded a lot like Weiss. _'Oh no,'_ she thought, as she took a step closer to the door._'Poor thing must be devastated.'_

"Well, there goes my theory that she had her tear ducts surgically removed..." she muttered as she quietly opened the door, and peeked inside.

All three of her teammates were there. Yang was sitting next to Weiss on her bed, one armed wrapped around the blonde's shoulders and the other hand stroking Weiss' hand tenderly. Blake was simply lying in her bed, reading a book, the only sign she was paying attention was the right side of her bow, which was aimed towards the heiress.

Weiss was a complete sobbing mess, and that made Ruby's heart hurt a little.

"I can't... believe... he sold me..." she was at least comprehensible between sobs. Weiss glanced up and noticed the faunus, "And why aren't you paying attention to my strife?!" she screamed, glaring at Blake, her eyes throwing daggers at the black-haired girl's direction.

"I am," Blake said, amber eyes leaving her book for just a moment, before resuming their previous position. "Can't you see I'm listening?" Her bow waggled back and forth a bit, indicating she was indeed doing what she said.

Opening the door fully, Ruby made her presence known, and she spoke as she sat down on Blake's bed, "Weiss... look, I know it must be hard for you to accept this, you know, seeing how love is something that you should find on your own and not have forced upon you, and all that, but I want you to know that we will be there for you throughout this entire marriage. You won't have to go though it alone."

The girl raised her head from Yang's chest and shook it. "No... It's... It's not that... I've always known... I just... can't... I can't believe he sold me... for... eight... million... Lien," she turned to Ruby, looking at her in the eye. "I'm worth at least one hundred million!" she yelled before breaking down, burying her head in her hands, her shoulders shaking from the force of her sobs.

Ruby blinked.

Yang face-palmed.

Blake's bow twitched

**Quite short first chapter, just to get things started. Thank you for reading, please review :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Since the first chapter was obviously not a full one, we thought to give you guys another one! Still setting the story in this (obviously longer, but still not too long) chapter.  
How many of you got the reference in the story's title?  
Disclaimer: ****We don't own Rooster Teeth, RWBY, the characters, or the au this story is loosely (I repeat, loosely) based on. We do own the rest of the plot though! Tasteless jabs at celebrities constitute fair game.**  
~TSO: A co-writer who reviews her own story. Interesting. Thank you for your lovely words, moron.  
~DarkShaquille: As I (and I think TSO as well) told you, you should watch the anime if you want to get the full grasp of what's going on. Otherwise you'll probably (certainly) get confused with all the characters and everything that is (and will be) going on. Other than that, thanks for taking the time to read and review! Keep an eye out for more  
~echoxknox: Thank you for reviewing! We hope you stick around and find out :)

**Thank you for the reviews, the follows and faves!**

**2.**

"Yang? _Yang_..." a familiar, high-pitched voice sing-songed.

"She's not waking up," another voice said, rather indifferently.

"Oh, I know! Maybe this will help!" the first voice exclaimed, and Yang knew in an instant what was coming to her. She squeezed her eyes shut, just in time to be hit in the head with a pillow.

"Ruby!" she yelled as she grabbed the pillow, and flung it across the room. "You know I hate that!"

"Well, maybe that's why I do it," said the girl. "You sleep like a rock, Yang, and we need to pack! We're going home for the summer! Whose excited? Show hands! Come on people!" A disappointed sigh escaped her lips when she realized that no one was even remotely willing to participate in her games.

"It's too early for this..." Yang muttered, making her way down from her bed.

"It's not too early; we leave in an hour. Now, if everyone had packed their things yesterday, like_ I_ did, and like I suggested you do as well, you wouldn't be in such a hurry, and you could enjoy this fine day, the way I am," came Weiss' voice from her bed, her eyes scanning the pages of a book.

"Weiss, stop being like this and come help." Weiss' head shot up briefly, to give Ruby a raised eyebrow look, only to return to her reading a moment later. "Please?" Ruby added, rolling her eyes at the fact that she was actually begging Weiss to do something for her. "Forget it. We-"

"Okay, nobody move! There was a book under my pillow and now it's gone. Who took it?" said Blake, throwing her pillow aside, and tossing the sheets on the floor.

"What are you talking about?" asked Weiss, slowly and discretely hiding the book she was reading behind her back, and under her own pillow.

"There was a book under my pillow, and now it's not there," Blake repeated, and turned to look at Weiss, "and I bet you took it!" her bow moved slightly back as she shot an angry look at her teammate.

"Hey! You don't know what you're talking about. Don't accuse me if you're incapable of keeping track of your stuff. Had you packed yesterday-"

"Yes, we know, 'o Infallible Goddess Weiss. None of this would have happened if we had listened to your wisdom and had packed yesterday, like you so cleverly did," Yang interrupted, still being too sleepy to deal with the girl's shenanigans. "Now can everyone please pack in silence?"

"Wow... Yang wants to be quiet. Maybe she's sick," Ruby muttered, but no one was paying attention to her.

"Weiss... I know you took my book. If you give it back now, I promise I won't hurt you," said Blake in her best attempt at a calm voice, before adding a little more quietly, "a lot."

"Blake, you're not making any sense. You probably put it somewhere else and forgot about it," replied Weiss, moving her hand dismissively. "Besides," she added, "why would I steal your porn?" a crooked, sly smile made its way to her lips. As Blake's eyes widened, a gasp was heard from Yang's direction, and a chuckle from Ruby's.

"You-you-I knew it!" Blake yelled, and charged at Weiss, who was prepared for what was about to come, and moved out of the way, while managing to grab the book. "Give it back!"

"'Ninjas of love'..." read Weiss out loud, looking at the cover. "You've got porn, Blake! There's no use denying it!" she exclaimed as she swiftly jumped up to Yang's bed, away from Blake's wrath. "This is just too great!"

"Ooh, I've been meaning to read that..." Yang mused aloud.

"It's not porn!" yelled Blake, making her way over. "It's-it's-it's a romance novel."

"Yeah, like that would be any less embarrassing," Ruby butted in, earning an angry look from the faunus girl.

"Don't kid yourself, kitty. It's porn. You know it, I certainly know it, no point in hiding it," Weiss waved the book above Blake's head.

"It. Is. Not. Porn!" Blake jumped up on the bed as well, and grabbed Weiss' shoulders, pinning her down, her ears fully folded back now. While her teammate was unable to move, Blake snatched the book from her loosening grip, and moved her face close to Weiss', their noses almost touching. "And I don't appreciate being called _'kitty'_," she said. She got off the other girl, and made her way down, a slight yet obvious blush creeping its way to her cheeks.

"Well. That was fun!" exclaimed Ruby, who didn't have time to duck out of a flying pillow's way.

_**~Flashback~**_

In the center of the dark room, Cinder Fall sat at a table, her features softly illuminated by the dim light. She was impatient, irritated even; the way she kept moving her leg nervously being a dead giveaway. Across from her, one could make out two people sitting. At a first glance, they seemed like normal, everyday people. Looking at the couple closer, though, one could see cat ears adorning the top of their heads.

"Listen," Cinder's voice was quiet, pretend calmness dripping from her every word. "I don't want to go to extraordinary measures to get you to agree to this arrangement."

The faunus looked at each other, their eyebrows knitted subtly in both worry and confusion.

"When the rights to the company fall upon your child, I want you to hand it over to me," Cinder simply stated, like something like that would be the normal thing to do.

Their ears twitched. Should they ask?

"What's in it for us?" asked the man after a moment of silence.

Cinder raised her hand and ignited it, a small smile playing across her lips. "I will pay off the dowry in full, and give you fifty percent of it's value each month," she said, and the pair's eyes widened. "I also won't kill you right now."

They looked at each other again, this time their worry was anything but subtle.

"Okay... but we already have the dowry payed off," said the woman quietly, yet firmly.

Cinder chuckled, "By taking a loan from the White Fang Bank? I would hardly called that payed off."

"How do you know about that bank?" the man's voice was laced with concern, and a tinge of fear now.

"Hm" She smirked as her eyes began to glow, "wouldn't you like to know? Now, do we have an agreement or not?"

The man nodded and squeezed his wife's hand for reassurance, "Yes, ma'am, we do."

Placing both her hands on the table, she got up swiftly, the chair she was sitting on making a scraping sound that made the pair's ears twitch. She walked to the door in a slow pace, swaying her hips from left to right as she did so.

Her exit from the room was slow, the sound of her heels echoing all around, leaving behind more questions than the two faunus had gotten answers for.

**A/N: Thank you for reading! We'd love to know what you think so far :) (TSO, if you're going to review, make it constructive in a less polite way. You're spoiling me.)**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hello everyone! It took us a while to come up with this chapter, but you see, I had been writing for my other story (shameless advertizing time: If you like _Frozen_, go give it a read. It's called "Let It Snow", and it's been on hiatus for way too long... I'll try to update though!), and we decided that what TSO was writing wasn't really fit for this chapter. Long story short, we ended up wasting about three weeks before we finally managed to write the proper chapter. We hope you like it!  
****TSO's A/N: Okay, it is extremely weird writing young children, I don't think I like it. Parties are also something I don't think I'll ever want to write about again. Also, in this note I have attached content from an idea we had that was thrown out very early in planning. (I will admit, I was sad to see it go, but it had to.)  
****_Cinder looked into the red eyes before her, tangling her hand into green hair, and pulling the dark girl's head nearer, "Oh, master thief Emerald, I do believe you have stolen my heart."  
_****—TSO **

**Disclaimer: ****Disclaimer: ****We don't own Rooster Teeth, RWBY, the characters, or the au this story is loosely (I repeat, _loosely_) based on. We do own the rest of the plot though! Tasteless jabs at celebrities constitute fair game.  
************~TSO: Uh... Excuse me, dumb ass -_-, but isn't a flashback "like a cut scene to the past"? It's like a flash (aka cut scene) back (aka past). I don't see what the problem is.  
************~DarkShaquille: I know for a fact that you still haven't watched this, and it's only gonna get more confusing for you. Glad you're reading though! And glad you like it :)  
************~Guest (Chapter 1 review): I'm pretty sure you won't see this, but I'm gonna reply anyway. I fixed Miltia's name (thanks for the heads up), and both TSO and I are pretty sure that while, yes, Melanie's outfit is white, her color is actually mint green.  
************~ScytheReaper: Thank you! Glad you liked it, and we hope to see you around :)  
************~echoxknox: Let's hope it doesn't get too confusing or anything. Ask away if you have any questions about it (we won't spoil anything though :P)  
************~Thedoctor24601: Would you look who decided to drop by. Hello there! Huh... Glad we made you laugh I suppose :P And you're gonna have to start watching it at some point 'cause this will only confuse you further! Plus, spoilers (duh). (I keep getting more and more people to watch RWBY, and I'm quite proud of myself.) Also, thanks for your help on this one!**

**3.**

Stuff had been packed, rooms had been cleaned, beds had been made, and everyone was more than ready to leave Beacon Academy for the summer and have some much needed, and well-deserved, vacation.

Ruby looked to her peer, "It's amazing how fast the semester ended, don't you think?" she did not appreciate the silence that followed her question. "Don't you think?" she repeated louder.

The raven-haired girl standing next to her blinked and turned her head to face her team leader, "Huh?"

"I said," Ruby started again, "it's amazing how fast the semester ended, don't you think?"

"Oh, uh… yeah. Sure," replied Blake, ignoring the muttered "Honestly, Blake?" that had come from the other girl.

"What's the matter with you?" asked Ruby, keeping her tone hushed.

"Nothing, why?" Blake's gaze turned away from the redhead, and she sighed as she stared into nothingness.

Ruby rolled her eyes, "Seriously? Do you even realize what you look like right now?" she asked, and proceeded to imitate Blake to the point of mocking, a grin appearing on her face when the latter one couldn't stop a laugh from escaping her lips. "Come on, Blakie, please tell me what's wrong?" she said as she smiled warmly, and draped her arm around the older girl's shoulders.

Blake smiled, raising an eyebrow, "Blakie?" she asked. Ruby raised her shoulders as her smile grew a little bigger. "Look, it's nothing, okay? I promise. It's just that—I talked with my parents and they seemed kind of weird; so I'm a little worried, that's all." Ruby removed her arm from Blake's shoulders and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Honest," said Blake, only to receive a raised eyebrow from the other girl that caused her to sigh. "I'm sure it's nothing so let's just drop it, okay? Why don't we talk about something else?"

"Like?"

"I don't know. Anything really... what are you planning on doing this summer?" Blake offered a half forced smile that did nothing to convince Ruby to drop the subject.

"You know perfectly well what I'm going to be doing this summer, Blake. Your attempts to change the subject are pitiful." Blake blinked once, her bow twitching ever so slightly, let out a frustrated sigh, and started to walk away from a very much taken aback Ruby.

"What the—Hey! Where are you going? We're leaving soon!" yelled the younger girl as she ran behind the other one. "Where are you going?" she asked, grabbing Blake's arm when she finally caught up with her.

"Home. The airship will be leaving soon, which means you'll be leaving, so I need to get home." Blake's answer only managed to confuse Ruby even more.

"Uh… the airship is that way. You know, where we had been standing like a minute ago…"

"I know."

"Then how are you gonna get home if you—"

"Same way I got here. I'll walk." Ruby's eyes squinted in question, and her mouth opened slightly.

"I'm sorry, I didn't quite hear you. You're gonna _walk_ home? You do realize we're on top of a cliff, right? A very _tall_ cliff—"

"Airships don't go where I live," answered Blake simply, and raised her shoulders.

"Where you…" it dawned on Ruby that she had never looked into that subject, "where _do_ you live?"

"Outside the kingdoms." Blake's short replies had begun to tick the red haired girl off the wrong way.

"Where—" she tried asking again, but she didn't have the chance to finish.

"Outside," was the Faunus girl's answer, and Ruby had had enough.

"Fine!" she exclaimed after letting out an exasperated sigh. "Do what you want, see if I care!" she turned her back to Blake dramatically, and started walking, fighting the urge to look over her shoulder. When she was a few paces away, her anger faded, and her shoulders slumped. '_I do care…' _she thought, dropping her head, and she was ready to turn around when she felt a hand clasping her own. She stiffened, but only for a moment.

"I'm sorry…" muttered Blake, and smiled a small, albeit genuine, smile. "I know I haven't been the best... girlfriend lately, but—"

Ruby's eyes grew wide, and she hastily placed a hand over Blake's mouth. "Shh!"

The older girl tried to protest, her voice coming out in muffled incoherencies. "Don't drop the 'g' word here! People might hear it! Or worse," she leaned is so her mouth was practically touching Blake's ear, "Yang might hear it," she whispered.

"So what?" asked Blake when Ruby cautiously removed her hand from her mouth. "It's been long enough, and I honestly don't understand why we have to—"

"Yang! There you are!" exclaimed the girl in red, shoving the Faunus girl aside, and throwing her a glare. "I've been looking everywhere for you!"

"I was right here. With you… waiting to board the airship, remember? And then you left…?" Yang threw a confused and somewhat suspicious look from Ruby to Blake and back. "What are you guys doing anyway?"

"We—" Blake begun, but had her speech cut short when Ruby stepped in front of her, and elbowed her in her stomach.

"We were just talking about how Blake is going to walk home, because apparently airships don't go where she lives," said the girl innocently. "Isn't that weird?"

"Uh… Not if she lives outside the kingdoms, it's not," came Yang's answer, and Ruby's jaw fell slightly for the second time that day.

"You… wait. You knew that... How did you..." Ruby was looking from Yang to Blake, too confused to be able to form full sentences.

"I told her," came Blake's somewhat indifferent voice from behind her.

"I'm sure Ozpin could arrange something for you, though," continued Yang. "Climbing down the Beacon Cliffs probably isn't the safest way to leave."

"No, it's okay. I could actually use some time to myself," replied Blake. "Now come on. You guys are going to be leaving soon, and I wanna be there to see you off," she made an attempt to link her arm with Ruby's, but sighed and gave up when the latter would have none of it.

"Took you long enough," Weiss' voice sounded above the crowd as she made her way to the three girls. "If I miss the airship because of you three, I will _not_ forgive you."

"Don't tell me you're going home with us mere peasants and not using your own private airship," commented Blake, earning a glare from Weiss, and laughs and a pat on the shoulder from Ruby and Yang. "Why are you so eager to go home anyway?" she asked.

"For your information, Father and I have a lot to discuss when I get home," said Weiss, and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Not that it's any of your business," she muttered. "So can we get going now?"

"And can you _please_ stop being such a control freak? The airship is still here, we're not gonna miss it."

"Uh, it's called being punctual. Thank you very much," at that, Weiss turned on her heels and headed towards the gangway.

"Well, looks like we have to go," chuckled Yang.

"Yep. I'll call you!" exclaimed Ruby as she leaned in to hug Blake, a hug that lingered maybe a second too long. "Have a great summer!" she added when the two girls broke their embrace, Yang watching them somewhat intrigued. "Have lots of fun, and please be careful on your way down… are you sure you don't want to ask Ozpin to arrange something for you?"

"Yes, I'm sure," she replied. "You should go now, Weiss doesn't look too happy." The three girls turned to see a very annoyed Weiss, glaring daggers at them. "Have fun guys." Blake turned to leave, but was stopped by Yang's loud voice calling after her.

"Hey! Where is my hug? You can't leave like that!"

"Oh, uh… S-sure…" was all the Faunus girl had time to say before being squished into one of the tightest hugs she had ever experienced. "I can't- breathe!" she managed to say, but her voice was barely heard.

"We're gonna miss you!" exclaimed Yang when she finally released Blake from her iron hold.

"I'm gonna miss you too, guys," said Blake, throwing a knowing look at Ruby, and turned around to leave, this time in large strides, so that Yang wouldn't have time to decide that she wanted another hug.

* * *

Blake looked at the cliff before her and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. Getting up had been no problem, but the descent was going to be an entirely different issue.

She pulled the blade from her back and examined her situation again. She could just jump down, and hope her aura could make up the difference in the landing. It had worked fine for her the previous time she did it. Of course, this was much farther down than at initiation, and the area below her was bare rock. So maybe her landing technique wouldn't be enough this time.

Blake threw the Gambol Shroud down, imbedding the blade into the rock face below. She figured she'd probably shoot herself at least twice on the way down, but her scroll said she could cover it, so she turned around and began to climb down the sheer face.

Now, climbing up a steep cliff is quite difficult, but climbing down one is infinitely more so, and Blake was quickly beginning to realize that her plan for getting home might not have been the best. She was continually missing footholds, and, as this wasn't enough, her support was underneath her, meaning she would still fall some distance before stopping.

The Faunus girl wrapped some of the slack in the line around her arm and took another step down. She slowly started getting the hang of it, and she let her mind wander as she made her way down. The first thought that popped into her mind was that she had never actually tested to see if her weapon could maintain a hold if she were to fall. Sure, she could swing from the sword, but this was different, and it was starting to bother the girl.

Her foot slipped off of another hold, and the brunette's heart skipped a beat as she kicked to a different one. Another step.

She began to think about Weiss. The girl seemed devastated by the marriage; Weiss had barely even spoken to anyone after she found out, and people had started comparing the "new Weiss" to Blake herself. Blake took a moment to think about the wedding. She figured it was probably going to be the wedding of the century. Every tabloid would be there, telling all the lies they could; the entire Schnee family would be in Atlas, all in one place, probably raising the property value with their very presence.

The girl rolled her eyes at the thought of how lavish and pretentious it would be. The event would be a week long, everyone covered in jewels and precious metals... One could probably pan the leftover drinks for gold afterwards. The glitter would probably be made of gold too, and the confetti would be encrusted in diamonds and platinum. A snort of disapproval escaped her lips. They would certainly be wearing the finest silks and fabrics of exotic lands. The men's socks would match their ties, which would match their women's undergarments. The parasols and canes would be gilded and polished just for the occasion. Out from the cellar would come a bottle from 1702, and everyone would have a lavish party of sorts only a true snob could have, complete with polo, dressage, croquet, peasant hunting, and golf tournaments. There would be a dog show, and horse races... The very air would smell of perfumes and colognes, bottles of which were worth more than a new car, and the centerpiece would be the Schnee Crystal, a five hundred carat uncut freeze crystal, harvested from the Schnee quarry. Massive bolt engines running lights so bright they could be seen from space would supply power, and the people would go through more Earl Gray than there was in all of Atlas.

Blake shook her head and sighed. Everything would be paid for by the tears of dying kittens and the products of Faunus labor the Schnee Dust Company outsourced to Menagerie, no doubt. Workers there were paid less than one lien an hour to cut and grind dust from the Schnee quarry. "Capitalism," she muttered.

Blake made it to the Gambol Shroud and pulled it from the cliff face, preparing to plant it another fifty feet down.

* * *

Blake opened the door to the foyer of sorts and stepped in. The Faunus had just gotten back after a three hour hike from Beacon to the place she had learned to call her home.

After dusting herself off a little, and setting her things down, she prepared to take a long overdue nap, and headed into the main room. She began to undress as she made her way down the hall, taking off her bow first.

When Blake entered the room, she was shocked by the sight before her. The girl's parents were there, sitting around the table, waiting for her.

"Why are you two here?" she asked, rather bitterly.

The two looked at each other, and then back to their daughter, "We have a matter of business to discuss with you."

Blake sighed, "For the thousandth time, I am not returning to the White Fang, and I never will." She could hear a chair creek.

"We aren't here to recruit you, Blake," her mother said, "We have something else to discuss." Blake blinked, and her mother proceeded in a manner she thought her daughter would relate to, "The past few years have been difficult for all of us, Blake, and I know you want to see a more peaceful relationship between humans and the Faunus race." Blake nodded, and her mother hesitated, "We… We have made a deal with a powerful human that should aid you in this goal."

Blake thought for a moment, it seemed like a good idea, except for one small part, "When have you two started caring more about what _I_ want, and not what the White Fang wants?"

Her mother sighed, this probably wasn't the best time to lie to her daughter, "The human offered us a deal." Blake blinked again, "He said if we went through with the arrangement, he would begin investing in strides toward helping assimilate the Faunus into society."

Blake turned her head slightly; something about this didn't seem quite right, "Why do you need me?

* * *

"Weiss!" Her father's voice echoed through the halls of the mansion the minute she opened the door and set her suitcase down. No, Orich Schnee had not sent their private airship to pick her up from the Academy, he hadn't even come to greet her; and the tone of his voice told her that greeting her was not a priority on his list that day. Although, in reality, she was lucky he even took the time to remember she existed, albeit only as a way to create additional revenue. Weiss took a deep breath and followed her father's voice to the place he was always at: his office.

"Y-Yes, father?" her tone was somewhat uncertain, stuttering a little as she walked in the room. The man was sitting behind a desk, reading a piece of paper, showing no sign of acknowledging her presence.

"Sit," he said, pointing to the chair across from him with his head, his eyes never leaving the paper. She didn't know why, but Weiss felt the need to swallow hard before walking to the place the man had indicated, and sitting down.

A few moments later, her father raised his head and removed his glasses, his eyes examining his daughter from head to toe. Weiss straightened her back the moment her father's eyes fell on her. She had been taught at an early age that proper ladies never slouch, and now she was just doing it on impulse whenever her father was around.

"I'm sure you know what I want to talk to you about," her father started, not really waiting for an answer.

"Of course I do," muttered Weiss. "It made headlines after all, didn't it?"

"How many times do I have to tell you that ladies-"

"Ladies don't mutter. I know," Weiss resisted the urge to roll her eyes, and folded her hands neatly on her lap.

"The wedding is scheduled to take place next month," the girl's eyes widened at the simplicity of her father's tone.

"Next month? You can't be serious, father! We need more time to-_I_ need more time…" her voice faded. She knew this was going to happen, she always knew, and she thought she was ready for it. Hearing her father's words, however, made her realize that maybe, just maybe she wasn't as ready as she thought she was. "Can I at least know who my future husband is?" she asked when her mind caught up with the fact that she didn't even know who the person she was supposed to marry was. "Unless I have to wait and see him at the wedding…" she mumbled.

"You're not going to see him at the wedding, Weiss, simply because it is not a 'he'." Weiss' jaw dropped, and she could swear that her heart had stopped beating, as she turned to stare at the man, her eyes wide in surprise and disbelief.

"A girl?" she asked, trying to keep her voice as level as she possibly could.

"A Faunus," his voice had more than a hint of discontent, "it is also female," his reply only managed to confuse her even more. "I believe you may even be acquainted with said animal," Orich continued, his eyes once again going over the documents on his desk, not paying attention to the girl in front of him.

"I know her? How would I know any Faunus? You never even let them near me as a child, choosing to lie to me about what they were instead. The first time I met a Faunus was…" Weiss paused as her mind caught up with what she was about to say, but it couldn't be so, there was no way her father would marry her to that woman. The blonde swallowed before speaking again, "Who-who is she?" Weiss was trying hard to keep her voice calm and collected. She knew perfectly well where yelling at her father would lead. The man looked around his desk for a moment, before grabbing a piece of paper; he threw it at his daughter's feet, his head never raising to look at her. Weiss sighed and rolled her eyes as she bent over to pick the paper up, which had landed face down. It was a photo.

Weiss' eyes grew bigger than she ever thought possible, and her breath got caught in the back of her throat as she took in what she was seeing. Her mouth moved up and down as if trying to speak, but no sound came out. Her eyes examined the picture thoroughly, and then darted from it to her father and back. How was that possible?

The picture was that of a girl alright, a girl Weiss had grown to know all too well the past year. A girl whom she thought would never be her friend, a girl who had kept a huge secret from her, and yet somehow Weiss had managed to look past that and forgive her, and a girl she had never even imagined would accept such a preposterous arrangement, a girl who's heritage she didn't even know anything about when they first met.

"Blake…" the name came out as barely a whisper from the girl's lips. Weiss felt her face growing hot, and she clutched the picture, crumpling the edges a bit. Before she knew it, she was on her feet, the picture completely crashed into a ball, and her face red. "WHAT?! How could you do that to us?"

"Do _not_ raise your voice at me!"

Blinded by rage, Weiss didn't even notice her father's hand until it was too late.

* * *

Meanwhile, a very similar conversation was taking place somewhere outside the kingdoms.

"What do you mean I'm getting married?!" Blake was breathing hard, trying vainly to calm herself.

"It's not up to you, Blake. Sit down and listen!" her father hissed at her; but knowing his daughter, he was not going to get what he had asked for.

"Not up to me? It's _my_ marriage, it's my _life_, and it's not up to me? Whose call is it to make then? Yours?" No, the girl was not just going to sit there and accept everything her once-dear parents had to throw at her.

"Yes! It is our call to make! You're our daughter, and you do as we say!" her father yelled, rising to his feet in an attempt to intimidate the younger feline. Blake knew in an instant that her already strained relationship with her parents was going to take a turn for the worse.

"I am _not _your property! You can't make decisions like this one and just expect me to agree with them!" She whipped her head to where her mother was sitting, "And you're okay with this?!" she yelled, her arms flying around.

"_This_," started her mother, imitating the girl's actions, "is what has to be done, Blake. It is for the best." The woman's voice was calm and collected, but there was anger hiding underneath, just waiting to come out.

Blake wanted to scream. All this time, she had managed to create a persona that was mysterious, dark, and seemingly indifferent to pretty much everything; and now all she could do was watch it fall apart.

"For _who's_ best? Certainly not mine! You didn't even bother-"

Her father stood as tall as he could, "Blake! That's enough! We have made a decision and—" the infuriated sigh that escaped from the girl's lips interrupted the man, who glared at her, his ears folded all the way back, mirroring his daughter's.

"Do you even know who you're marrying me off to?"

"Of course we do, Blake. We're not _that_ bad of parents," came the mother's reply.

"Oh, of course," muttered the cat girl sarcastically. "May _I_ know?" she asked when neither of her parents showed any signs of speaking any further; though she was starting to gain suspicions of the answer. The man approached the table and grabbed a newspaper. Turning it to the first page, he handed it to Blake, who grabbed it from his hand throwing a glare at him.

Her eyes scanned the front page, "You can't be serious…" it was exactly who she guessed.

"You can't possibly think, after all this, that we are not serious," stated the man simply.

"How is this for the best?!" Blake had to try extra hard this time not to scream at her parents. "You want me to marry into the Schnee family! You actually bought me a spot in the family! Is that what good parenting is according to your book? Marrying your underage child off to some family who hates our kind just to ensure your personal gain?" By now, Blake's ears were no longer visible, hidden in her raven hair.

"Open your eyes, Blake!" it was her mother's turn to yell now. "It's not for our personal gain! It's for the good of all the Faunus people! Having a connection to that family ensures our well-being, our survival! If you could just see things the way we are, you could see that you're over-"

"No! Don't you dare say I'm overreacting, because I'm not! And I'm _not_ marrying Weiss!" she yelled and marched to her room.

"Blake!" The loud bang of the door closing made the Faunus couple jump in surprise.

"Ruby..." whispered Blake as she let herself slide to the floor, her back resting against the door, and wrapped her arms around her knees.

* * *

The door opened, and a ten-year-old girl ran through the room, her red dress flapping in the breeze, eager to tell her father all she had done that day. As she approached the entry, she was swept off her feet by hands as large as she was. Immediately a face nuzzled against her black and grey hair, "Who's my favorite daughter?"

"I am… Daddy," the girl tried to answer between giggles.

The man put her back down and looked her in the eye, "Do you think you can guess what I did today?" The girl pondered, it was a game they played: each time she guessed right, she got to tell him one thing about her day.

"Did you make any deals?" she asked. He shook his head, "Did you go shopping?"

"Sort of," he smiled, "your daddy just bought a small company in Atlas."

"What's Atlas?" the girl asked.

"It's a kingdom far off in the southeast, honey. Do you know what's most special about this company?" The girl shook her head, he smiled, "One day it's going to be yours."

Cinder cocked her head to the side, "Why?"

The man's smile only grew wider, "Because you're my favorite daughter, and it's your birthday."

**A/N: So... That happened. What did you guys think? As always, thank you for the alerts and reviews (except your review TSO. Your input is clearly not needed)!  
P.S.: Since no one answered my question, the title of this story is a reference to "Springtime for Hitler" from _The Producers_ :)**


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